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Can You Tell The Difference??? ASH vs. ALDER

WHICH IS ALDER? WHICH IS ASH?

  • 1-A and 2-A are Alder, 1-B and 2-B are Ash.

    Votes: 17 15.7%

  • 1-A and 2-A are Ash, 1-B and 2-B are Alder.

    Votes: 48 44.4%

  • I can hear a difference between the "1" recordings, but not the "2" recordings

    Votes: 16 14.8%

  • I can hear a difference between the "2" recordings, but not the "1" recordings

    Votes: 3 2.8%

  • I can't hear a difference between any of them!

    Votes: 24 22.2%
  • Total voters
    108
-=DanAtkinson=-

-=DanAtkinson=-

Feb 26, 2008
2,457
125
50
Atlanta, GA
#1
EDIT: The answers are revealed in post 79.

Ok, we've all seen the recent threads about how wood "matters". This has been a heated debate around here for ages, and I'm sure it always will be.

My position is that wood indeed DOES matter. However, I believe it matters very little. Other factors contribute to tone much more than wood choice (like pickups, strings, neck construction, the player, etc).

But many folks wholeheartedly believe that wood has a HUGE impact on tone, and some even defend the premise almost like they're defending a religion.

Well, I love recording bass. So I decided to test the theory.

Here is what I did: I used two Fender MIM Jazz basses, one Alder and one Ash. I recorded a couple of tracks with one, then took it apart and swapped out the body. Everything else was left the same: pickups, bridge, strings, neck, tuners, etc. I spent time making sure the pickup height was the same, and the string to pickup distance the same.

I play 2 different bass parts on each bass. "Walkabout" by RHCP and "The Lemon Song" by Zeppelin. Here are the files. You can right-click to save them to your desktop:


(It's critical that you listen to these clips with headphones or good speakers!)

I won't say which is which yet. I want to wait at least a couple of days to let people guess and build anticipation. :p Please vote for your picks using the vote box above, and also post a comment with your picks. Share your analysis and prediction!

Now, to my ears, these clips all sound VERY similar. IMO, this is proof that wood type has very little impact on tone. Some of you "wood matters" believers might try to find fault in my test methodology. Some of you may be inclined to say, "There's no way you could match the string to pickup spacing exactly" or "Whenever you record different takes they will always sound slightly different because of changes in playing". Well, the problem with this logic is that it backs you into a corner. You see, if tiny variations like those are all it takes to make an Ash body sound more like Alder (or vice versa), then obviously wood doesn't matter as much as you think, and other factors have more impact. :cool:

So, anyway, let's get this started. Let's see those votes!
 
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Reactions: jeffmensch and StayLow
#3
I think wood differences are much more obvious on a passive bass than an active bass, and may be the resonance and mid tones felt and heard mainly by the player. To me, alder brings out the mids while ash tends to suck out the mids. But that's in general. A good quality piece of wood isn't going to make as much difference to tone as a crappy piece of wood will.

That being said, the first two sound like the ash bass to me.
 
#5
Sounds like 1 and 4 are ash.

But, it's more of a guess, yes the clips do sound pretty similar. But, as EagleMoon stated, if I were the one PLAYING it, I could probably feel the difference quite readily.

I think you're sorta missing the point of the discussion, frankly. Everyone acknowledges basses have dead spots, some are more lively, some have more of a pronounced response in some areas... that's due to the wood. And the neck is probably more of a factor than the body.

But, switching bodies and listening to a recording (not feeling the bass' response under the fingers), it's just a guess.
 
#7
M.R. Ogle said:
Sounds like 1 and 4 are ash.

But, it's more of a guess, yes the clips do sound pretty similar. But, as EagleMoon stated, if I were the one PLAYING it, I could probably feel the difference quite readily.

I think you're sorta missing the point of the discussion, frankly. Everyone acknowledges basses have dead spots, some are more lively, some have more of a pronounced response in some areas... that's due to the wood. And the neck is probably more of a factor than the body.

But, switching bodies and listening to a recording (not feeling the bass' response under the fingers), it's just a guess.
Click to expand...

Nope, I don't miss the point of the discussion at all. There are plenty of folks who claim that body wood has a huge impact on overall tone. This thread isn't about "feeling the difference" while playing. It's about tone.
 
#12
Steve said:
^ That. It'd be kinda interesting to do that with a Maple and Rosewood neck to see if Roger Sadowsky is right and the fretboard makes a bigger difference.

In any case, thanks for the effort. That must have been a real PITA.
Click to expand...

He only gives options of A's being ash, B's being alder and vice versa. So it's impossible for clips 1 and 4 both being ash.

I really wonder what the truth is?
 
#15
whenever it is that I can get headphones, or good speakers (or at least ones where you can hear bass at all) I'll let you know, although I'm already on your side. I really like your use of control - SAME strings, SAME pickups, SAME neck, SAME bridge, the ONLY thing that's different - except perhaps your string and pickup height by as small a margin as possible - is the wood of the body. I think next you should to the same thing with two different necks, firstly two all-maple necks, and then two maple/rosewood necks.

Even if you don't - I admire your attention to details and look forward to hearing it whenever I can find my F****** headphones.

edit: though it's only through my laptop speakers (which don't show bass very much at all) I don't think there's too much of a difference, I *THINK* that 1-B was a little "warmer" and maybe richer in midrange than 1-A, but that could also just as easily my speakers.
 
#18
the A's definitely sound different from the B's. The a's remind me of the sound when i used to almost articulate with my throat when i played trombone. so maybe a throaty tone? the difference is very slight, but i to prefer both B's. I am assuming that the B's are alder, but i could be wrong. Thanks for posting this! it will help me greatly with future wood choice.
 
#20
through my crappy laptop speakers.... i didnt even have to listen to the second set of recordings.

1A and 2A are ash, and thats all i needed to hear to make up my mind.

But i did listen to 1B some, sefinitely a little warmer, somewhat scooped mids althought the high end sounds about the same. Alder

When do we get answers?

And no kiddin i thought that the ash in mind was swamp ash after hearing it. Swamp Ash is a little more Profound sounding (IMO) than regular Ash, helping lead me to my decision
 

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